Honor Codes

DURHAM, N.C.--At the urging of Duke University President Terry Sanford, a committee of students is preparing a draft of an honor code pledging each student to "truth, honesty, good will, fairness and a concern for others."

Because the number of colleges with honor codes has declined in recent years, Sanford said, "the achievement at Duke will furnish national leadership."

Among the institutions that now have codes are Stanford, Princeton, Kent State, Vanderbilt, University of North Carolina, and three U.S. military academies.

Most codes govern only the student's own actions but codes at West Point and the Air Force Academy require a student to report the names of anyone else who has lied, cheated, or stolen anything.

At Princeton, teachers leave the room during exams and at the end each student writes the following statement: "I pledge my honor that, during this examination, I have neither given nor received assistance."

Six Stanford undergraduates were suspended from school last year for violating the honor code, mostly for cheating on exams or plagiarizing papers. Since 1972 an average of 18 students annually have been charged with violating the honor code, with the worst violators suspended from school for one quarter.